This is a comprehensive guide for newer players who wish to improve their fascist gameplay, mainly in 7 player games. Objectively, fascists are more difficult to play than liberals, as they are the minority and must skillfully conceal their identity to deceive the liberals.

This guide assumes that you know the basic rules of the game and know how to play. Please read Iconic's Guide if you have not read it yet, as it shows how to play well as a liberal, and is also the foundation for the strategies mentioned in this guide. This guide shows players how to improve their gameplay as a fascist, and consequently win more games.

Newer players often struggle with winning games as a fascist. This guide is intended to help you trick more liberals into giving you power and win more games.

This guide is written for anyone who wants to improve their game as a fascist, or who wishes to become better at the game by being able to more readily spot fascists.

• Fascist-guide
  • What is it?
  • Why use it?
  • Who is this guide for?
  • Table of Contents
  • Definitions
  • General Advice
  • Objectives of a Fascist
  • Making Controversial Plays
  • Playing the Meta
  • Playing Blues vs Playing Reds
  • When to Safely Drop Blues
  • How to Play as Hitler
  • Strategic conflicting (silent drop vs card conf vs inv conf)
  • What to do on inv
  • Cucu
  • What to do on SE
  • What to do if you get the gun
  • How to get away with murder (i.e. killing a lib)
  • Strategic outing
  • What to do in a 3v3
  • What to do in a 3v2 (fascist majority)
  • How to trick libs into thinking you're liberal (how not to out)
  • Other fascist strategies
  • Things to do as both roles
  • Things to avoid doing
  • Learning to accept defeat
  • Final Words
  • Additional Resources
  • Acknowledgements
  • Additional Tips From Scorcha

Here is some juicy fascist terminology that will help you better understand this guide. All terms that have not been defined in the official rule book, but are mentioned in this guide, are listed below in alphabetical order:

3v3 - When a lib is shot and there are 3 fascists and 3 liberals left.

#B deck - e.g. 3B deck. Players often count the number of blues claimed to determine who the potential fascists are. This is often determined by a deck count. All players know that there are 6 blues in the deck, with 5 blues being shown in the first five govs being most likely. After the deck finishes, if many blues were played and claimed (5-6), i.e. a high blue deck, it can be assumed that many liberals have touched the deck. If not many blues were claimed (3-4), i.e. a low blue deck, it can be assumed that the RRR presidents were likely to have dropped a blue silently.

Autofas/Autolib - When a player automatically declares another player liberal or fascist without sufficient evidence or proof.

Bad manners (also, bm) - Actions taken by a player to intentionally frustrate or irritate the opponent, usually through the use of deliberate time wasting actions. For example, taking a long time on a chancellor pick when it is obvious that the game is lost due to a fascist majority.

Bird - Alternate term for liberal.

Blind conf - When Hitler conflicts someone without knowing their identity, nor the seats of their fascist partners.

Choice - Typically refers to when a president draws RBB and drops the blue to test the chancellor with RB. Typically done on the investigation policy. If the fascist chancellor confs and plays the red, the liberal president can use the investigative power to potentially find another fascist.

CNH - Confirmed Not Hitler. Refers to a player who was elected chancellor in Hitler Zone without the game immediately ending in a fascist victory or shot without the game ending in a liberal victory. A CNH player can be a liberal or a regular fascist.

Co-fas - Your other fascist teammates.

Confirmed Lib - When a player is confirmed 100% liberal to the entire table. It can happen if: a) The other 6 players are in 3 separate confs, proving that the player cannot possibly be fascist, as all other players are in confs. b) A player is investigated lib by another player with 2 confs on the board. In this scenario, both, the investigator and the investigatee are outside of the two conflicts. it is impossible that both of them are fascist as there are two confs on the board, meaning that the person investigated is confirmed lib. c) A player can become confirmed lib if they play a blue on choice in veto-zone or veto RR in veto-zone. When a player is confirmed liberal, all other players know for sure that they are liberal.

Conflict - "Conf" for short, a conflict is when the president and chancellor disagrees on the cards shown to each other, or the validity of the investigation. For example, a president may claim that they had RRB and handed their chancellor RB, but the chancellor claims that they got handed RR. It usually only happens when a red is played and is known as a card conf. However, you may also experience blue conflicts (e.g. RRB-BB). The second case of a conf is called an inv conf, and is when the investigator claims his investigatee as fascist. When a conflict occurs, you can be sure that either the president or chancellor is fascist, if not both. However, as a player outside of the conflict, it is impossible to immediately determine who is the fascist, and must be deduced from further observation.

Cucu - An advanced strategy for liberals that will be described later in this guide. Either results in a free blue or a fascist being outed. Nicknamed Cucu after the player Cucumber.

Deckfuck - When a player draws a really bad hand, usually RRR, that freezes them out of playing in future govs. Usually happens when a player in a good seat (e.g. 1256) draws RRR and gets locked out round one.

Drop - To discard a liberal policy as president/chancellor. A dropper is a person who drops a blue on their turn in gov.

Fake Conf - When a liberal lies about the cards drawn or the investigation result to see reactions to the conflict to deduce the fascists (e.g. claiming RRB on RRR). Please note all lies started by a liberal should be resolved before the next government as per the site rules, or by HZ/deck-end if it is more beneficial to maintain it.

Fascist majority - Commonly referred to as fas maj, occurs when there are 3 fascists and 2 liberals alive in the game after 2 liberals get shot. Results in a certain fascist victory as the fascists hold the voting advantage.

Freeze - When two players are disallowed to play in future govs due to a conf/RRR. The players do not elect frozen players and keep them from playing in future governments by neining them.

Gov - Short form of government. Refers to an elected government that passes with 4 or more Jas in a 7 player game.

Gun - Colloquial term for the execution power that is unlocked after the 4th and 5th fascist policies are played.

Gunpoint - When a president picks a chancellor that he thinks might be fascist in the Hitler Zone when the next red policy unlocks the execution power. If the chancellor plays red when they are handed RB, the liberal president knows for certain that they are fascist, and they will likely be shot. Thus, the chancellor is forced to play blue or get killed. Doesn't apply to Hitler because the game instantly ends if Hitler gets elected at gunpoint through heil.

Heil - To successfully elect Hitler as chancellor in Hitler Zone and win the game.

Hitler Zone - After three fascist policies are played, the game enters Hitler Zone. If Hitler is elected chancellor, the game ends in a fascist victory. In the HZ, liberal presidents must be extra careful not to pick Hitler as their chancellor to avoid losing immediately.

Instaheil - When a player gets SE and picks Hitler as the chancellor. The vote passes and immediately results in a fascist victory.

Inv - Short for the Investigative Power. This power is unlocked when the second fascist policy is played in a regular 7 player game. This power allows the president to peek at the allegiance of one chosen player.

Lines - The seats of the fascists in the game. For example, if fascists are in seat 1, 2, and 3, they would be referred to as 123 lines.

Meta - A predetermined rotation of governments; an order of electing governments that maximizes lib chances of victory. Most players adhere to the meta as it is proven to be the most effective at winning games. In secrethitler.io, it is commonly known as 1526.

No Shame Fascism (NSF) - When a player openly indulges in suspected fascist behaviour without trying to hide it.

Out - The act of fascists to publicly declare their identities to all players, usually to TD the game in a 3v3 scenario. Players can also accuse other players of outing when fascists unintentionally reveal their identity without directly stating it.

Overclaim - To claim to have drawn more blues than actually drawn. For example, a president can overclaim by claiming RBB to the table, when in reality they drew RRB after dropping the red. The idea of this is to cover for your co-fascists who silent dropped and claimed RRR.

Punish - Assume a player's role to be fascist because of them playing poorly.

Resign - When a player resigns to another player, they are declaring that they are 100% confident their resigned player is liberal, and that they will act accordingly to the desires of their resigned player. E.g. if player A resigns to player B, they are telling the table they will support whatever player B decides to do, as they believe player B is liberal.

Reward - To reward a player for playing well by jaing their govs or the govs they approve.

SE - Stands for Special Election. The power that is unlocked when the third fascist policy is enacted in a regular 7 player game. When this happens, the current president can choose the next president to vote on, most often the most liberal player on the table. All players are expected to Ja the government formed by SE, as liberals must trust the player that was picked for SE.

Silent Drop - When a fascist draws RRB from the deck, drops the blue, and claims RRR to avoid suspicion. This is done so to avoid the risk of conflict, while also avoiding suspicion by faking to be an unlucky liberal. This can also be helpful to deny information, since a conflict guarantees at least one fascist in a given pair.

Shade - To make someone look bad through your chat, usually backed by evidence in the cards played or their behaviour.

Sheep - When a fascist successfully deceives a liberal into giving fascists power, killing another liberal, or electing Hitler as chancellor.

Signal - When a regular fascist tries to inform their Hitler of their identity without outing to the table. Usually done in a quiet and modest manner.

Snake - Alternate term for fascist.

Solve - To attempt to figure out the fascist lines as a liberal. Used by players when they are in the later stages of the game, and try to deduce the likely fascists by looking at the clues from the board.

Tank - Refers to when a liberal president draws RRR. Usually humorously used when a player is frustrated after being frozen out on RRR. Can also be fascists dropping and pretending to be an unlucky liberal.

Throw - When a player makes a move that significantly disadvantages their team or potentially causes their team to lose the game. Not necessarily referring to the rule-breaking gamethrows.

Topdeck (TD) - To successfully nein 3 consecutive governments so that the election tracker is maxed. This forces the game to enact the first policy on top of the policy deck.

Triangle - When three players decide to cycle each other in gov. For example, a 147 triangle would play as: 14 47 71.

Underclaim - To not claim a blue that was drawn. For example, a president can underclaim by claiming RRR to the table, when in reality they drew RRB. The idea of this play for the fascists is to subtly discard a blue and hope to get away with it by posing as an unlucky liberal. However, it can be done by liberals to discourage fascists from silent dropping in future governments (e.g. claiming RBB on BBB).

Vanilla/Reg - A fascist that is not Hitler, can see who the other fascists are at the start of the game.

Veto Zone (VZ) - When 5 fascist policies are played, and the president and chancellor have veto powers. Typically, if you are elected in VZ as a fascist you guarantee yourself a victory unless multiple blues are drawn by the president.

Secret Hitler is structured in a way that favours the liberals. The most prominent advantage that the liberals have over the fascists is their voting majority, as the liberals voting together can trump any opposition from the fascists. This easily outweighs any other fascist advantage in the game. However, the fascists do have a few tricks up their sleeve:

1. The first deck contains 6 liberal policies (colloquially known as "blues") and 11 fascist policies (colloquially known as "reds"). There are more fascist policies in the deck, so it's quite possible that a liberal can be forced to play a red due to an RRR draw.
2. The liberals have to find 5 blues to win, while fascists often only need three (three reds enter the Hitler Zone).
3. A Top Deck card usually results in a red, although liberals might strategically topdeck (more on this later)
4. Liberals have one main win condition, as they win most of their games by getting 5 blues on the board. Liberals winning by executing Hitler is quite rare. Fascists, however, have three. 1) They win if they get Hitler elected as chancellor in HZ. 2) They usually win (over 90% of the time) if a liberal is executed by TD'ing the game. 3) They usually win if they can get elected in a Veto Zone government (100% win unless multiple blues drawn).
5. Fascists know who each other are, and can work together to keep themselves in power if they play well. The liberals are clueless and have to figure things out for themselves in the beginning.

These fascist advantages are meant to replicate the historic context of the game, as fascism was uncontrollably gaining power in Germany. Good fascists are able to exploit these advantages to its maximum potential. This guide will mainly go over the strategies and tips for playing well as a regular fascist, with a special section dedicated to playing as Hitler. Hitler plays slightly differently compared to the other fascists that revolves around the secondary win condition, and the fact that Hitler does not know the identities of the other players, similar to the liberals, and must figure lines out for themselves throughout the game.

As a fascist, your primary objectives to win the game are quite simple:

1. Get 6 reds on the table before 5 blues are played or
2. Heil Hitler in HZ.

To achieve these objectives, your secondary objectives are:

1. Gain the trust of the liberals so that they keep you in gov in the later stages (bullet, Veto Zone)
2. Try to persuade liberals to get Hitler elected in the Hitler Zone
3. Try to get your co-fascists into play (elected into governments)

Golden Rule of Fascists: This is the #1 rule that all good fascists do. They talk a lot in the game, and contribute to the discussion. This makes you look liberal to the other libs. Additionally, in a social deception game, your chat is the foremost way to exert influence disproportionate to your seats. You always want to be vocal. If you sit there silently like an egg, it does not help you in any way, as liberals are unlikely to trust you. If you discuss with the liberals, you will appear to be on their side, and you will get elected when it truly matters. Just like Iconic's guide for liberals, you want to keep talking as a fascist; helps you blend in.

Some fascists are afraid of talking as they fear they will slip up and expose their identity. They are afraid that if they provide the liberals too much information, they'll end up looking suspicious. However, this becomes more unlikely as you get better with practice. For newer players, play the game as if you were a liberal, and talk as if you didn't know the identity of anyone else. Knowing the lines is both a curse and a blessing. Try to solve the lines for yourself, as if you knew nothing about who the fascists are, and go from there. Shade the liberals for getting RRR if you can get away with it, and support your other fascists; by stating that you would ja them, without being too obvious.

Don't publicly out lines too early, it has no upside. Think of it this way. If the liberals somehow figure out who the fascists are, they can cycle through the lib-lib govs, play all the blues, and win the game. The four liberals, voting together, have the power to pass or reject any government. Their biggest hindrance is that they don't know who each other are. You have to take advantage of this. You have to stay hidden to retain a chance of advancing your own political agenda, but all you have to do is trick one liberal into voting with you, and along with your other two fascists, have 4 votes that can pass any gov of your wish. Keep this in mind.

Most of the time, with few exceptions, the key to being a good fascist is being subtle in your behaviour. You are a spy who needs to infiltrate the liberal ranks. You need to sow distrust among the liberals so that they don't elect each other and vote for you instead. For this reason, you want to play exactly the same way as if you were a liberal, and only play reds if you're sure you can get away with it. This is often difficult to do, as it is self-contradicting to help the liberals, especially when a liberal lead means you're closer to a loss. To win, you need a combination of luck (liberals drawing RRR), charisma, and good seats. You don't often get all three, which is why fascist is such a difficult role to play.

Generally, you want to avoid playing reds early on (unless you want to conflict, more on this later). Feel free to play a red if you know you can get away with it and justify playing it later. You need to withstand a lot of pressure, as not only are you going to be suspected, but also you will be grilled by the liberals. You have to stand your own ground with your own opinions. Be confident and don't cave in too easily, as if you do so, you'll look like Hitler trying to get himself elected. The secret to being a good fascist is to act in the exact same way as a good liberal.

Although it's tempting to keep playing your other fascists in gov, you often have to play blues, or ja other liberal governments that result in blues being played. The idea of playing blues as a fascist may sound counterintuitive at first, but is done for a good reason.

Of course, if the blues are going to be played either way, it makes much more sense for you to play them, to build trust with the liberals. The reason for doing so is this: it doesn’t matter how many blues are played, as long as you can get 6 reds on the board or heil Hitler. Chances are, blues will be played regardless of who touches the deck. If you play the blues, you will look extremely liberal to the other players on the board. If you lock yourself out with a conf or drop a silent RRR, the liberals will end up playing all the blues. Then, they will be the ones that the table trusts.

Another play that newer fascists have a hard time getting over is the act of SEing a liberal. The most logical act is to advocate for one's Hitler, but keep in mind that overzealous support without solid evidence can lead the liberals to suspect and expose both you and your Hitler. In this scenario, all the libs have to do is pick up gun and kill Hitler. You have to avoid this at all costs. When the SE power is in play, don't immediately resign to a liberal, it makes you look like Hitler trying to buy votes to get elected. Instead, tell the president to hold the SE, and discuss. By toning the speed of the game down, you look extremely liberal by discussing with the table a valid pick for the next president. Over 95% of times, the SE'd government passes; thus, you want to try the best you can to give it to a fascist. That way, they can drop a blue for gun, and shoot a liberal, making it 3v3. If you can't get away with doing that, it's your best option to just eventually resign to a liberal. Doing so will gain you trust with the table, as you are going along with the table's pick.

Of course, you cannot play blue if it will immediately lose you the game (e.g. playing the 5th blue). In that scenario, you have to play the red, even if you're Hitler. If you're a regular fascist at gunpoint, and the lib president hands you RB and 4 blues are on the board, you cannot play the 5th blue because you'll immediately lose the game. Even if you get shot as a result, 4v2 games are still surprisingly winnable if your fascist partners play well.

In conclusion, you sometimes have to make plays that benefit the liberals to look liberal, even if it may go against advancing your own political agenda.

In majority of the games, most players will ask for, or assume that you will play according to the meta. A meta is a set of predetermined govs, that ensures the maximum information being made available to the table, while at the same time minimizing the chances of fascists getting away with dropping blues. Since it benefits the liberals (the majority), most players will ask you to play as the meta implies. In secrethitler.io, the meta is known as 1526, as it is the seats that will play in the first two govs.

Most players (especially seated liberals) will ask of you to adhere to the meta, simply because it increases their chances of winning. Additionally, most players are most comfortable playing with the meta, so they prefer to stay inside of their comfort zone. The winrate for liberals is the highest (around 70%) if they stick to the meta and play well, assuming perfect gameplay from both teams. Thus, playing meta ensures that they have good odds to win the game. Although other funky compositions have been tried in the past, any deviation from the 1526 meta lowers the win rate for the liberals, as proven by the historical statistics. A new meta may appear in the future, but for now, 1526 reigns supreme at the time of this writing. The meta is briefly mentioned in Iconic's Guide, but this section will take a more specific look into the details and inner workings of the meta. To play well as a fascist, it requires a solid understanding of how the meta works and how to exploit it.

Here is a specific breakdown of how the meta works and how it plays out:

Naturally, the player in seat 1 will choose the first gov. Ideally, liberals want to limit the amount of presidents that touch the deck to better deduce the droppers. At the same time, liberals also want enough presidents to touch the deck so that they can get information to solve the game. The ideal number of presidents that touch the deck in the first five govs is 4. Govs are referred to by seat numbers, for example 15 simply refers to a gov with the player in seat 1 as president and the player in seat 5 as chancellor.

The first two govs to play are 15 and 26. This is to ensure that after 26 plays, 51 can play without having to TD. TDing before Hitler Zone (HZ) is one of the worst things that can happen in the game for liberals. By TDing the investigation or SE power, they lose the ability to scout information before they have to play a high stakes game in HZ. This makes it very difficult for liberals to pick lib chancellors correctly in HZ. Although TD before HZ is advantageous for the fascists, do not suggest it to the table, you will automatically be labeled as fascist. No sensible liberal will ever take TD before HZ. Even if you think a gov is fas-fas, it’s always better to Ja the gov in order to obtain information over TDing, since the TD is usually red anyways, and in doing so you lose a valuable presidential ability (inv/SE). In order to prevent TDing after 15, 26 plays to ensure 51 can play after.

The first two govs 15 and 26 pass unanimously regardless of lines. The objective here is to get as much early game information as possible. The meta forces fascists to play blues to stay in power or take themselves out with a red (RRR or conf). This way, the players who play blue can be trusted, as fascist are eventually forced to play red and freeze themselves out of power.

If 15 and 26 both play blues:

• Players can deduce that 1526 is most likely lib-heavy and continue to elect these players in gov to play more blues (the exception is 12x/56x lines, or all three fascists in 1526)
• Even if fascists are playing blues with each other (fascist president and fascist chancellor, fas-fas gov), they can play more blues but will eventually be forced to play red
• Nein 3x and 4x and play 51 and 62 to keep testing until someone claims RRR or a conf occurs
• If 51 confs or is RRR, play 62, and if 62 plays blue, play 23 or 24 after and set up a triangle between 236 or 246 (e.g. 23 36 62)
• If 51 plays blue and 62 confs or RRR, play 13 or 14 and set up a triangle between 135 or 145 (e.g. 13 35 51) until the first deck is finished (policy deck reshuffles)

If 15 is RRR:

• RRR can happen in one of two scenarios: either a silent drop by a fascist president or an unlucky president drawing RRR
• Either way, freeze 15 and play 26 and 37 to get the other players into play, and continue to elect the players who play the blues, as they are most likely liberals

If 15 confs:

• Typically, the fascist in 15 confs to bring two of their fascist teammates in 347 into play, and hopefully to lock out a liberal as well

• If this happens, you can safely assume there are 2 fascist in 347. If there was only one fascist in 347, it's not worth it for the fascist in 15 to conf, as it will bring 2 liberals and 1 fascist into play, an unworthy trade

• If you play in 347, it's very likely to have two fascist touching the deck and playing cards, not optimal for the liberals

• In this scenario, set up a triangle in 246, as even if 4 is fascist, you will only have one fascist in the triangle and two liberals. The play here is: 24 46 62.

• In high elo lobbies, sometimes the fasc in 15 confs to lay down the first red. This way, the fasc in 26 can take inv on their turn.

If 15 is blue and 26 is conf or RRR:

• Similar to the 15 conf, the fascist in 26 usually confs to bring two of their fascist partners in 347 into play
• Nein 3x and 4x and play 51. If 51 confs or RRR, play 73 34 47. Otherwise, if 51 plays blue, play 13+35/14+45.

If 15 and 26 both play reds (regardless of conf or RRR):

• 1526 is most likely fas-heavy since RRR RRR is very unlikely to happen naturally, and if they conf (either by cards or the inv), then you know for sure that there's a fascist in gov
• 1526 are all frozen for playing reds, set up a triangle in 347 by playing 34 47 73.
• If 2 double dips on the inv (e.g. conflicts 6 and invs 3 as fascist), play 47 and 63.
• If a conf happens in the 347 triangle then the player outside of the conf is very likely to be liberal (SE this player)

These are simply the tried-and-true strategies for the first few govs of the game to maximize the information provided to the liberals. At this point, after the above strategies are played, it is up to the table to decide what they want to play next, as each game is different. This is what makes Secret Hitler fun, each game is unique and different from others.

As a rule of thumb, after the first five govs are played, there is sufficient information on the table for the players to deduce the players most likely to be liberals. The players should then play the most liberal players (players who have played the most blues) in future govs. Chances are, as long as libs are in power, blues will be played and libs will be on track to win the game.

Even though a fascist may be playing blues to look liberal, especially Hitler, by having them continue to play cards, it forces them to play blues or to freeze themselves out with a red. As a fascist, there's not much you can do to influence the table to deviate from the meta without outing. Thus, you can only hope for a liberal to draw RRR and freeze themselves out, or to conflict when it is possible to bring your co-fascist into play (more on this in the next section).

In recent times, there has been criticism of the current meta and new metas have been proposed and tested. Two of the most popular metas that have been gaining popularity are referred to as the 147 meta and the Gio Meta.

The 147 meta, first introduced by the player commitsudoku, is a meta that revolves around triangling 147 (14 47 71). The key differentiator is that in this meta, when a liberal draws RBB, instead of dropping the red and forcing BB, they must drop the blue and choice the chancellor. Most people don't like to play this meta, simply because the win rate is relatively low.

Another meta that has been liked by many of the high elo players is called the Gio Meta. Originally created by GioIzHawt, its main strategy is to create a triangle between you and the highest elo player on the table. This way, it forces them to play cards as much as possible. If they're liberal, playing cards helps them gain trust, and if they're fascist, they're forced to take themselves out with a red. High elo players like this meta because it allows them to be played even if they get bad seats, but most people don't because it's too memey to be taken seriously. In addition, most high elo players know how to play around this meta, namely by jaing govs outside of the triangle. You will never get better at the game if you rely on better players carrying you to wins.

A fun meta that I personally enjoy playing is called the for/against meta. You first look at the seated players and find your favourite one, usually a player much better than you are. Then, based on how the game goes, you either unconditionally support them and resign to everything they do (for) if you think they’re on the same team as you, or if you think they’re on the opposite team, you play against them and counter everything they say at all costs (against). Not a viable strategy, just a tendency that most players happen to do.

At the start of the game, as a regular fascist you will know what the lines are. You then immediately need to calculate what your win condition is, and formulate a plan to proceed. If you're Hitler, just play blues whenever you can. Refer to the How to Play as Hitler section for more guidance. And also, always play blues early with your co-fas if you're in gov together. An RRR or conf does no good, as it freezes both of you out of the game.

Generally, this is the rule of thumb for the most popular 1526 meta. It is assumed that you are fascist and seated in 1526, as 347 do not get to play in the early game.

If you have 2 fascists in 1526 and 1 fascist in 347:

Early on, you always want to be playing blues, as long as you ensure that you can stay in power for future governments. This ensures that you gain trust with the liberals and you hold more authority in your words.

347 don't usually get to play until HZ, thus by playing blues, you keep 2 liberals and 1 fascist frozen (not playing). This is beneficial to the fascists, as 2 liberals and 2 fascists in the 1526 governments are better than 3 liberals and 2 fascists in play if you take yourself and a liberal out with a red.

If you conflict, although you freeze a lib out of the game, 347 get to play, and 2 libs enter the game along with 1 fascist. This is not a winning trade for you, and you want to avoid this.

If you have 1 fascist in 1526 and 2 fascists in 347:

You see that 2 of your fascists are locked out in the early game due to the meta. If you are the single fascist in 1526, your best move here is to conflict and play a red as soon as possible (called an "early conf"). The reasons for this play are as follows:

1. If you play blues and cycle in 1526, there will be 3 liberals and 1 fascist in play. Chances are, your co-fas don't get to play blues to gain trust. If you conflict them late into the game, the other pair (15/26) will figure out that they are most likely lib-lib, and will play the final blue. This is horrendous for your winrate.
2. When you conflict, it flushes a blue down the drain. It will not be touched until the next reshuffle. One less blue in the deck means that liberals have one less blue to play with until the new deck. You also get one red on the table, which advances your agenda and brings you one step closer to victory. Plus, the liberals don't immediately know who specifically is the fascist, you or the person you confed!
3. This is the most important reason. Your two fascists, who would normally be unable to play early on, will get a chance to play cards. If they play some blues in 347, they are likely to gain trust from the liberals. You get two fascists in play (your co-fas in 347) at the expense of one lib (the lib in 347). You also get to freeze your lib chancellor as a bonus!

If you're seated in seat 1/2 and you don't want to raise suspicion, or want to fake being an unlucky lib, you can always silent drop (drop a blue on RRB and claim RRR). This effectively does the same thing as a conf (freezes both you and your lib chancellor out of the game) without giving liberals much information. However, understand that if it's a low blue deck (3B or 4B), liberals will first suspect you as one of the droppers. The one exception that often occurs in high elo games is if 1 tanks RRR on 15, you can silent drop on 26 and inv 6 lib. Beware to not inv 6 fascist or you will likely be the most fascist player at the table, being the inv taker in a low blue deck.

Sometimes, as a fascist, you have to make plays that may disadvantage the fascists, but are necessary for you to gain trust. Blues are going to get played anyways, so it's better for you (the fascist) to play the blues, rather than the liberals to play the blues. It's a case-by-case basis, but sometimes it's better to play a blue because it carries favour with the liberals and helps you stay in power.

Although you usually have to play blues to gain trust as a fascist, there are some opportunities to drop blues inconspicuously without it being immediately noticed by the liberals. One of the easiest ways to do this is to keep track of the number of blues in the deck that were previously claimed by the presidents who touched the deck.

Even if a conf occurs, you count the blue that is claimed by the president. Some fascist presidents may choose to boost the deck by claiming RRB when they drew RRR and artificially produce a conf. This information is useful to both the liberals as well as the fascists. To the liberals, a high blue deck (a deck is the total number of blues claimed after it reshuffles) means a lot of liberals touched the deck, or fascists overclaimed with each other. In contrast, a low blue deck means that a lot of fascist presidents have touched the deck, and the players who touched the deck will likely be suspected of being fascists.

Although as a fascist it is better not to play reds early on when you could play blues instead, there will be a point where you will eventually have to play reds to advance your team's agenda. In other words, there are some scenarios that you can safely drop blues and get away with it; i.e. look liberal in the process.

Here are a few of the examples where you can drop blues and still look liberal.

If you draw RBB as a regular fascist - If you're a regular fascist and you draw RBB, it's perfectly okay to ditch one of the blues and claim RRB. The reason being: 1) A blue is being played regardless of which card you drop and 2) even if it's a low blue deck, you will never be one of the people suspected of dropping. Best case scenario, a liberal tanks RRR and they get flamed by their fellow liberals for looking like a dropper. If the RRR presidents take the blame, then it makes you look more liberal than other players.

If you draw RRB in a high B deck - This usually happens when the deck is about to finish (i.e. last few cards left). Liberals will usually cast no suspicion if it is a 5B deck, and will be overjoyed at a 6b deck. Either way, if you draw the 6th blue, and you see that 5 blues have already been claimed, it's possible to ditch the last blue and claim RRR. That way, you not only get a red on the board, but also you seem innocent to the liberals. However, if you do this in the early game and it ends up being a 4B deck after you claim RRR, you will immediately be one of the first people suspected of dropping.

If you draw RBB on the inv - According to Iconic's guide, you would always want to force on RBB (i.e. hand BB to your chancellor) except for when the next presidential power is the investigation. In this case, liberals are allowed to drop a blue on RBB, and choice their chancellor. If the chancellor "gives inv" and plays the red, it allows the liberal president to have a chance of finding another fascist with the inv. If you are in a fas-fas gov, it's possible for you to double drop and play a red, claiming RRR in the process. While this is extremely risky to do as it causes a low blue deck, if there was another RRR already played by a liberal president, it's possible to cast aside some of the blame to them later on. If you have a liberal chancellor, a blue is being played either way, so it's okay to drop the blue and claim RBB. Some liberals will choice on the inv, and if you do so as well, you will not be shaded heavily for it.

You can also drop a blue on RRB if it gives you the inv policy. However, you must claim RRR and inv your chancellor and claim liberal. If you claim them as fascist, you are statistically the most fascist player on the board for taking the inv and you will get shaded for it. But if you inv them liberal, you get a free red on the board and little suspicion. Even in a low B deck, you will still look liberal to your chancellor, as reg would freeze them by claiming fascist.

A strategy that many fascists like to do is called overclaiming. This is when fascists will claim more blues than they had drawn from the deck. For example, if both the president and chancellor are fascist and draw RRB, they play the blue and claim RBB and BB. This makes up a blue out of nowhere, and keeps the deck count high. As a result of overclaiming early, when they get into govs later, they are able to drop blues while maintaining a high deck count; clearing possible suspicion. However, to successfully overclaim, it requires the perfect coordination of both the president and the chancellor. To execute this correctly, immediately after the blue is played, the chancellor claims BB. After this, the president claims RBB to match the chancellor. The timing is extremely important. If they mess it up, whether through RBB/RB or RRB/BB will result in liberals being suspicious of a potential overclaim, and will cast shade on the both of you.

Most of this guide is written in the perspective of the regular fascist, given that you know the positions of your teammates. This section will cover the gameplay as Hitler, a special omegafascist role that comes with its own unique set of challenges.

The reason why there is a whole section dedicated to playing Hitler is because Hitler itself plays differently than the other fascists. Good Hitlers tend to play more cautious and more liberal compared to the regular fascists, who can play more recklessly and aggressively. Most games won by fascists are through heil, and given that it's the best win condition for the fascists, the play should revolve around getting the liberals to trust you and elect you in the late game govs.

As Hitler, it is the responsibility of your co-fascists to set you up for success. This means that they will play the reds on their turns, and set you up so that you can look as liberal as possible to get elected. Furthermore, they will act as an organized and cohesive unit to support you, distinguishing you as a clear option to get elected in the late game govs when the liberals are in disarray. If your co-fas play well, you should be in a position to get elected in the late game, when the vote truly matters.

The general rule of thumb for Hitlers is to play as liberal as possible. Play blues as much as possible, and act liberal with the other liberals. Suggest putting liberals in governments, as it will make it seem that you are one of them as well. Leave it to your regular fascists to help you get elected, as they will try to influence the other players to elect you into power. If you play a lot of blues, you will look like the most liberal player on the board, and this is highly advantageous to your team. Hopefully your co-fas picks up the slack to put down reds, so you can be a hidden fascist until the late game.

When you draw RRB, always pass the blue, it makes you look good for playing it. If your chancellor signals to you by playing the red, you can always cover for them with RRR. If you draw RBB, instead of dropping a blue and claiming RRB, drop the red and claim RBB to make yourself look extremely liberal. In the eyes of the liberals, forcing on RBB is more liberal than RRB. By claiming one more blue, it also gives your other fascists chances to drop later without being discovered, and get reds on the table for your team. Rely on your teammates to play the reds. You just stick to playing blues. You might even want to overclaim with your fascist. If they receive RB and claim BB, you might want to claim RBB to make up a blue. However, this may be risky, as a liberal could use the BB to see if you would try to overclaim, and then call you out on it.

Another possible style of play, although less common, is to play Hitler the same way as a regular fascist. This is often difficult to do, because 1) You don't know who your teammates are, and 2) Blind confing is often risky, as you don't know the identities of the players that you bring into play (i.e. the players in 347). Typically, Hitlers tend to avoid conflicts, as it freezes them out of future govs. They would have a lower chance of being elected. However, many players like to conflict as Hitler in 15, as it allows as many players to touch the deck as possible, ideally your fascists in 347. In a normal meta without conflicting, 347 doesn't touch deck until the late game. But if you conflict early, the best case scenario is that you freeze a seat 5 liberal and allow your two fascists in 347 to play. However, you wouldn't know lines and you have to make a gamble. Worst case scenario, you conflict with your own fascist, but if your fascist is competent, they would start outing to the table to confirm you as a liberal.

The best advice for people who play Hitler is to stick to their plays through the entire game. If you're going to play to be a trusted liberal as Hitler and pass tons of blues, you need to stick to that. Also, read ahead and see if there's a situation coming up where you'd be forced to conf, out or just play RRR. Beware that this essentially TLs you or invalidates the rest of the blues you passed and makes you no longer a desirable option. At that point, all you've done is having played blues for the libs and then resigned from the game. You can either aggressively conf from the start or you can play blues until you see a scenario where you'd be forced to conf or play RRR and then do it before you get there, since it's inevitable anyway. However, if you see that you have a clear path and have partial lines or know you're about to be the SE and already look super lib then stick with it, as it will provide you the best odds to win the game.

Many beginner Hitlers will play over cautiously, and are nearly silent in fear of exposing their identity. This is a rookie mistake, as high level Hitlers always talk a lot to blend in with the liberals. Don't be afraid to keep talking, even when the liberals call you out for it, you can fix your arguments and they'll drop the suspicion.

What to do on the investigation as Hitler

If you get the investigative power as Hitler, it's often best to investigate your chancellor. This is the meta inv, and you pass as liberal for doing so. If you find a liberal, usually you want to claim liberal in order to carry favour with them. In the eyes of your chancellor, you look extremely liberal/Hitler for doing so, as a regular fascist would freeze a liberal with the inv by claiming fascist. If you find your fascist teammate, congratulations! You already know practically your entire team. Claim that you have investigated a liberal so that your teammate looks good, and let them carry the game for you. You've done your job, and your teammate gets to play next; best case scenario.

If you get investigated by the president, you will immediately know their identity. If they investigate you and claim liberal, you know that they are your fascist teammate trying to cover for you. If they claim fascist, you know that the president is likely liberal because fascists would not conflict their Hitler on the inv in most cases. Either way, try your best to look liberal moving forward, as it will help you get elected later.

What to do on the SE as Hitler

If you get to choose the SE, obviously you would want it to go to one of your other fascists. Unfortunately, you don't know who they are, and most likely they are either RRR presidents or locked in a conf. In 9 out of 10 scenarios, you would have to pick a liberal to SE. You can't out and throw SE like a regular fascist would because you would be out of contention for being elected, giving you 0 win condition. Hold the SE, and have the table decide who they want to SE, and pick them. If you think your fascist is likely to get the SE, jump on the hype train and say that you resign to them as well.

Note: If you silent dropped on RRB to get the SE, you cannot claim RRR on the board, you have to claim RRB and conflict with your chancellor. If you claim RRR, you SE a liberal, and they draw RRR: they know that a natural RRR RRR is highly unlikely, and you are instantly the most fascist player on the table. Chances are, you will be shot for a confirmed kill, and immediately you lose the game. This is a mistake that many beginners make. Do not claim RRR or you will likely be shot!

Inexperienced Hitlers are often afraid to ask for the SE, since they have to be elected chancellor to win instantly. Getting the SE, although beneficial, does not end the game immediately. However, you should still campaign for SE nonetheless, a majority of games are still won through Hitler getting the SE, even if a heil doesn't happen. Remember that getting the SE as Hitler is still a fascist with a potential gun! Your co-fascists will very likely support you if you are a valid candidate for the SE, and if two other players support you, you are very likely to get the SE. If you manage to trick a liberal into supporting you, then you immediately get the SE because you + the liberal + your 2 co-fas means 4 people support your gov. Golden rule applies, and you get a passing gov!

The reasons behind this: If you get the SE, you get a passing gov. That means you will get the gun (execution power) 90% of the time because you will drop the blue unless you draw RBB. Therefore, you have a great opportunity to equalize the game by killing a lib and having a 3v3. Usually when you get the gun, your fascists will tell you their identities, and you will then TD the game, as you have enough votes to block any gov from passing. This results in great winning chances for you, as will be discussed in a later section, What to do in a 3v3. If your teammates find out you're about to shoot one of them, they will also out and tell you who to shoot. Either way, very good odds in your favour. Always remember, the first person that outs to you is almost certainly your fascist. Do not be stupid and shoot that person, because once liberals realize that lines are outed, the liberals will spam chat and claim to be your fascist in order to trick you. Just remember that if they out to you, they know your identity as Hitler. They are your FASCIST. The sure way to guarantee killing a liberal is to wait for multiple people to out, and kill the players excluded from both lines, as they are confirmed liberals.

There have been occasions where the Hitler gambit has been attempted. It happens when Hitler gets the gun, and a liberal outs themselves to Hitler, claiming to be their fascist to trick Hitler into shooting his own fascist.

Finding your teammates

During the game, you have to look out for clues to scout out your potential teammates. The most obvious is when a player loyally supports you without any specific reason for doing so. This may be due to the blues you played, and your fascist is keeping you in power by advocating for you. If a player is always suggesting potential govs that include you, they could possibly be your fascist.

If you hand your chancellor RB and they play the red, or if you play the red on RB and the president claims RRR, it's a surefire way for your teammates to secretly signal to you. Another way is when they investigate you and claim liberal. These are subtle and effective ways for your teammates to reveal their identities to you without blatantly outing to the table.

If you get the first gun

If you get the gun as Hitler and it's the first bullet, shoot whoever the table wants to shoot. Hold the gun and let the table discuss first, guaranteeing that you look liberal for doing so. Once they decide on someone, explicitly state that you're going to shoot them. This gives them one last chance to out if they are your fascist. You can now guarantee that it's a 3v3.

If you want a guaranteed way of killing a liberal, claim RRB on the gun, and observe the reaction of your chancellor. Your chancellor knows that they will be shot, they will not protest if they are liberal, and if they are your fascist, they will out lines, tell you who to shoot, and take a 3v3 as it gives a better win rate. Liberals usually do not expect an RRB executioner to be Hitler, and will not try fake outing with the Hitler gambit.

If you get the second gun

If you get the second gun, if a liberal was shot your fascists will out and take the fascist majority. Listen to them, they will tell you who to shoot. If a fascist was shot, there's not much you can do. You will have to out and shoot the most liberal player on the board, usually the person who got the first bullet (because they shot your teammate). Tough game here if it's a 3v2.

Conflicts (or confs for short) are disagreements among the table, typically between two players after a fascist policy has been played. There are two types of conflicts that can occur in Secret Hitler: card confs and inv confs. Let's go over each of these with an example.

Card confs are conflicts that occur due to disagreements between the cards shown and the cards played. For example, a liberal president draws RRB, discards a red, and passes RB to the fascist chancellor. The fascist chancellor plays the red, and discards the blue. Afterwards, the president claims that they received RRB and the chancellor claims that they were forced to play red because they claim to have received RR. This is a conflict over the cards played, known as a card conf.

Automatically, the liberal president knows the fascist identity of the chancellor, as no liberal would ever play a red when shown RB. However, this is unknown to the table, as the other players do not know whether the president is also liberal. However, card confs do not mean that the president is liberal and the chancellor is fascist.

The opposite can occur. For example, if a fascist president wants to force a conflict to bring in his fascist partners into the game, they can draw RRB, discard the blue, and claim RRB. The liberal chancellor will be forced to play red, and claim RR. To the table, it's the same RRB-RR situation. In this case, however, the president is fascist and the chancellor is liberal.

Inv confs are conflicts that occur due to the investigation. This occurs when a player investigates another player, and claims that the player investigated was fascist. It is guaranteed that there is a fascist in the pair, however, it is not certain whether the investigator or the investigatee is fascist. A fascist investigator can claim a liberal as fascist to freeze the liberal out of play, and a liberal investigator may find a true fascist with the investigation. Either way, the investigation is a powerful way for fascists to trash one of the most powerful presidential powers and possibly get away with it.

You should conflict with someone if it allows you to lock a strong liberal out of play (i.e. a good liberal player), or to bring your co-fascists into the game that would normally be unable to play due to the meta.

If you're paired with a strong liberal player in gov, you may choose to conflict them to take them out of play early on. The reason being, if they are untested until the late game, they are usually persuasive and convince the other libs to elect them into power. In essence, it allows them to "carry" the other liberals through receiving the SE and solving the game. By taking them out early on with a conf, you remove them from future contention, forcing the other players to choose between the weaker batch. This way, liberals will not have a "one-man carry" that will completely shut down your winning chances as a fascist. The scariest thing to fascists is a good liberal that has keen social reads and can solve the game.

As mentioned previously, if you see two of your fascists in 347 and you are the only fascist in 1526, you definitely want to conflict to bring them into play. For example, if the fascist line is 357 and you are in seat 5, by conflicting 1 you will bring 347 into the game. Normally it would cycle through 1526, but now that you conflicted, it breaks the natural rhythm of the meta and messes up the liberals. Furthermore, your fascists are now brought into play in a scenario where normal meta would exclude them from early govs.

The second case is to bring in your fascist as the president. In every gov that plays a blue, the president is always considered more liberal than the chancellor, whether they received RRB or RBB (with the exception of BBB, potential overclaim risk). The exception to the rule is on the fourth blue; if the chancellor plays the blue on RB they are more liberal than the president, since playing the fourth blue is risky as a fascist unless they want to take inv themselves instead of giving it to the president. In addition, the president may have underclaimed an RBB for RRB, which skews the deck count and doesn’t prove them liberal. If the fascist line is 235 and you are in seat 5, when you conflict on 1-5 you would allow 3 to play 3-7 as a fascist president. Normally meta would skip over 3, but in this scenario, you lock out a lib in seat 1 and allow your fascist to play the blue to gain trust.

Conflicting as Hitler is known as a "blind conf". Hitler can blind conf from anywhere. If you're Hitler in 15 it can be ideal to blind conf and maximize the amount of people getting to play, like 3 and 7. If you're Hitler seat 1 and 5 is liberal, and you have a fascist in 37, you would be freezing 5 and bringing 3 or 7 into the game. If 5 was your fascist and 37 are both liberals, it backfires. However, this is less common, and your fascist can always out to confirm you as liberal.

Instead of conflicting, sometimes it is better to consider silent dropping. This is when you drop on RRB and claim RRR. The reason for doing so in early govs is to avoid suspicion and deny the liberals information. If you conf on 15 in the first gov, the liberals will infer that there are most likely 2 fascists in 347 to make the conf worthwhile. This information helps liberals solve the game later on. To deprive the liberals of such information, you can silently drop, but beware that if the blue count is low after the deck is finished, you will be one of the first people suspected of dropping. The other utility is that by silent dropping, you are increasing the chance that a liberal will RRR, and look bad on deck as well.

Conflicting and giving a liberal the investigation power is known as an "inv give". As a fascist, it is almost always not worth it giving a liberal the inv, as you risk them finding one of your co-fas (double dip) and locking 2 fascists out of the game. Instead, it is much more optimal to play blue and take the inv yourself, allowing you to control the flow of the game in your favour.

Sometimes, you should make up a blue to force the conf. For example, if the SE is about to be played when you drew RRR, you never want to claim RRR. If you claim RRR and hand the SE to a liberal, if they draw RRR you are the most likely candidate to be shot. Therefore, you must force a conf by making up a blue and claiming RRB. Be careful to never be caught out overclaiming! A good rule of thumb is to only overclaim if you have fascists who can later underclaim for you.

When you are in a fas-fas gov (fascist president and fascist chancellor), the most tragic thing is drawing RRR on your first gov played. This locks both of you out of the game until further notice. Your only hope is to conflict and hope that one of you gets the gunpoint. If you conflict your Hitler, out as much as you can to confirm them. Try to get gunpoint, play red and tank shot, and then hope that liberals will pick your Hitler next after you outed. You can even meme claim RBB to signal your Hitler that both the regulars are out of the play since most liberals would claim RRB on a conf.

After you conflict, don't sit there like a mute egg. Talk with the liberals, contribute to the discussion, and act as if you are the liberal in the conf by adding meaningful comments to the game. This way, when it is time to execute a player, if you convince the liberals that you are lib they will shoot your conflict, making it a 3v3. Perhaps they'll even trust you enough to give you the gun!

The investigation power allows a player to peek at the allegiance of another player. This power is extremely useful to the liberals, as it allows them to get more info about the other players. As a regular fascist, you already know the identities of all players on the board, you just have to figure out how to use the inv most effectively.

If you draw RRR on the inv or silent drop, the meta is to investigate your chancellor to bring them back into the game. If you investigate a liberal, it is up to you to decide whether to look liberal by claiming liberal, or to lock them out by claiming fascist. If you investigate your co-fas, it is almost always best to claim liberal to get them elected into gov. There is usually no upside to conflicting your co-fas on the inv, as it locks both of you out and allows the liberals to cycle through themselves and win the game through blues.

One safe yet effective play is to inv your co-fas the first chance you get in 15x/26x/37x lines (a fas-fas gov). If a liberal tanks the first red, you can drop for inv and claim RRR, inv your co-fas and claim liberal. Not only do you get a free red on the board, but also you inv correctly (your chancellor), you trash inv to deprive the liberals of a valuable tool, and your co-fas gains trust and will secure a gov later on. There is only upside to this play, almost no downside. Just remember, if you can drop for inv (claim RRR) and go for a fas-fas inv, it’s almost always the optimal play.

You can use the inv to bring your teammates into play, or to lock a strong liberal out of gov. You can do this by dropping on RRB and claiming RRB, and investigate your fascist teammate and claim liberal. This way, although you are taken out by the conf, your teammate gains trust among the liberals. If this seems too risky for you, you can always lock out a liberal from play by dropping on RRB, claiming RRR, investigating your liberal chancellor and claiming fascist. This is less suspicious than conflicting, and you can pose as an unlucky lib who found a fascist through the inv. If you are truly ambitious, you can freeze two liberals with one play by conflicting one with the cards and one with the inv. Drop on RRB and claim RRB, and investigate a liberal and claim fascist. This way, two liberals are knocked out in one gov. However, this makes you appear as the most fascist player on the board, which is risky and could potentially get you shot.

If you get inved and the investigator claims liberal (because they're your co-fas), you will likely get the next passing gov. As president, you almost always want to play a blue on this turn whenever possible, because if you silently drop it will not only make yourself look bad, your investigator looks bad as well. They may call both of you fascist for doing so, locking both of you out of the game. If you play a blue after being inved liberal, liberals will trust you and likely give you the SE, thus the execution power.

If you get inved and the investigator claims fascist (because they're a liberal), you want to shade the investigator for taking inv. Usually players who claim RRR on the inv policy are statistically the most fascist based on cards alone, and you want to shade the hell out of that by pressing the evidence. It works even better if it's a low B deck, as the liberal will be hard shaded for taking the inv both by you and potentially the other liberals as well.

Never conflict with your co-fas on the inv. Although it gives you the inv, it does more harm than good. Both you and the other player are locked out, and you are forced to inv outside of the conf to claim liberal. It makes the game very hard for you to win. Always inv your other vanilla as liberal for them to take gov, and inv your Hitler liberal not only for them to play, but to also signal your identity. If you inv Hitler and you claim liberal, your Hitler knows you're their fascist.

Taking out two liberals in one turn is known as "double dipping". It can happen to both fascists and liberals. A liberal may be given the inv through a conf, and find another fascist through the inv. A fascist can also do the same, to conf a liberal on cards by claiming RRB, inv another liberal and claiming fascist. This maneuver locks 3 players out of gov. As a rule of thumb, it is usually not advised to do so as a fascist. Unless it sets up a win condition for your team, usually double dippers are highly shaded (a 2v1 conf) and look bad to the table. Never double dip as Hitler, it is not your job to play aggressively and lock liberals out. Let your vanillas do their thing and play the reds for you, your job is to focus on getting elected in HZ.

If you get double dipped by a liberal (you give inv and they find your co-fas), you always want to ask for an "anti-DD" to prove that you're liberal to the table. This involves playing the two players being conflicted by the double dipper to be put in a gov together, with the RRB chancellor as president and the inved fascist as chancellor to prevent Term Lock issues. For example, if 26 RRB conf and 2 invs 4 and claims fascist, the next gov would be 3x and 64 to prevent TL. This is a highly advantageous move from your perspective because it allows you to get back into play, even at the cost of a blue. On anti-DD, you will usually want to play a blue if you see one, to make the liberal investigator look bad. If you play red on an anti-DD, especially if you dropped a blue, both of you look extremely bad to the table. Liberals will easily call both of you fascist, killing any chances of you winning the game.

Cucu is a strategy that liberals prefer since it either results in a blue played or an out. It is enabled when one player investigates another and claims liberal. Cucu is when a gov passes with the investigated player as president and the investigator as chancellor. If a conflict occurs, the investigator is outed fascist.

The reason behind this strategy is that a conf means that there is usually one fascist in the president-chancellor pair. A fascist can inv a liberal and claim liberal to gain trust, but a liberal will never inv a fascist and claim liberal. Therefore, if they conflict, it is guaranteed that the investigator is fascist.

If liberals ask for cucu after you claim lib, you have to play a blue with them. You cannot conflict or you will be outed. The only exception to this rule is if you draw RRR, in which libs will draw suspicion on you but will not automatically lock you in as fascist. Another exception is to conflict your Hitler on cucu to confirm your Hitler. In a reg-reg cucu, you often still want to play blue since it allows your reg partner to take over the game and get the SE, gun, and VZ govs.

In certain scenarios, namely 0-2 or 1-2 boards, it’s better to out on cucu and take HZ on a 0-3 or 1-3 board respectively. Many beginners are afraid to do this, as it would out themselves as confirmed fascist. However, if you take an early HZ, it’s difficult for liberals to mount a comeback, as they not only have to not pick Hitler as chancellor, they also have to prevent fascists from getting a gun or a VZ gov. According to the stats, liberals win around 25% of 0-3 games, it’s sometimes worth the risk of outing on cucu to set up a better winrate for your team.

The SE is a powerful power that allows the liberals to give the most liberal player a gov in HZ. It allows the liberals to choose the next presidential candidate, usually a passing one, and skips the candidate rotation to the specific player. When a player receives the SE, they are usually unanimously agreed upon most liberal player in the game by the other players. The liberals trust the player who receives the SE to not pick Hitler, find other liberals, get a potential bullet and kill a fascist, or solve the game. It's a large responsibility that the liberals place on the person who receives the SE. The game is already in HZ, and one wrong move will spell disaster for the liberals.

Liberals usually like to give the SE to the player who has played the most blues. They also prefer blue presidents over blue chancellors, and blue force presidents (RBB) over blue forced chancellors (BB). Usually the SE never goes to a player in conf, or a red president (RRR) even if they could potentially be liberal. When you get the SE power, you will often want to hold the decision until the liberals decide. Instantly picking someone is considered a "thrown SE" and liberals will blame you as being a fascist immediately.

To look liberal, discuss with the liberals and go with their pick if you can't suggest your teammates without outing (no specific evidence or proof why you think they're liberal). Otherwise, if you do have a potential co-fas candidate that has played blues and looked liberal, feel free to vouch for them! It'll help them win the SE by getting liberals to resign to them. Make sure you have good proof to back your claim up though (e.g. they've played a lot of blues, they're actively contributing to solving the game).

If a liberal has the SE power, and you have played a lot of blues and look liberal that game, feel free to campaign for an SE on yourself! The liberals just want to give the SE to the most liberal player, and if you look super liberal on cards or on chat, try your best to get it! You only have to convince one liberal to resign to you, and your co-vanilla will also vouch for you. Your Hitler will quickly resign to you after they see two others have resigned, and you'll have 4 votes (yourself, your co-vanilla, your Hitler, and your sheeped liberal) to form a passing gov. The remaining liberals will soon follow suit to not out. If you're Hitler, both your vanillas will publicly resign to you, giving you two votes immediately. Combine that with a confused liberal, you'll have a passing gov as well! Campaign hard and don't give up because you never know if you'll get it.

You won't always be able to have the SE go to one of your teammates. In that case, try to SE a liberal and look as liberal as possible to the SE candidate. One way of doing so is by resigning to them early, it shows that you're liberal and they'll be more likely to listen to your advice in the future. The optimal strategy is to SE exactly three seats ahead of the current president if possible, because it’s the only position where it’s impossible to TD twice or TD repeat after the SE gov plays a blue. This way, they’ll be forced to pick another gov, even if they pick a lib the first time.

Even if you don't get the SE after the liberals finish discussing, work together with the SE candidate to pick the next gov. Give them advice on who to pick, suggest your Hitler as a possible candidate, and try to solve the game with them. If you marinate them enough, they'll give you a gov after, and you'll have great chances!

If there are three conflicts on the board (2 card confs and 1 inv conf), the player outside of the conflicts is immediately confirmed liberal since all three fascist are locked in confs. Therefore, the SE will automatically go to them. Do not attempt to dispute this or you will be deemed fascist.

If you get the SE as reg, you'll get a passing gov regardless of who you pick. The table has resigned to you. Feel free to pick your Hitler unless they are completely outed or term-limited. Even if some liberals think you heiled, they are forced to ja due to golden rule. It's the perfect opportunity to win the game on-the-spot, and liberals can't contest your gov and nein without risking potentially outing.

As a fascist, if you are able to get a gun you almost always want to kill a liberal. There is practically no upside to killing your co-fas. If you get the SE and draw RRB, you almost always want to drop the blue, take the gun, and claim RRR. At that point, your minimum winrate is to shoot a liberal and TD the game. It is more beneficial to your team to kill a liberal rather than play another blue, unless there are few blues on the board and you want to look liberal to get the gun again. As a regular fascist, you want to hold the gun and let the liberals turn on each other. If the liberals hate one of their own, you might be able to get away with killing them with the support of the other liberals. You never want to instantly shoot someone without discussion or kill the CNH (your chancellor), because it's not liberal behaviour. As Hitler, if you get the gun, at this stage of the game you should have a good idea who your co-fas are. Try to shoot someone who you think might be liberal. You might end up shooting your own fascist unless they out, but that's just tough luck.

A high level Hitler strategy is known as the "GP conf" on the first gun. You force a red by handing RR and claim RRB. Your chancellor knows that they will be shot, and if they are your fascist, they'll out lines to you so that you can shoot a liberal and take 3v3 TD game. Although this forces the game into TD, it's still good winning chances for your team, and you can guarantee that you kill a liberal as Hitler. Note that in higher level gameplay, if you do the same to a liberal (claim RRB), they'll catch on and fake out to you (claim to be your fascist to avoid being shot as a liberal). If they do so, your real fascists will also out the real lines to you. You don't have to potentially risk killing a possible fascist, just shoot outside of the claimed lines. For example, if you use the GP conf as seat 7 Hitler on 71 and 1 claims 167, 2 claims 257, shot on 34 is killing a confirmed liberal. The only problem is that if 1 claims 167, 2 claims 257, and 3 claims 347, you're forced to shoot a potential fascist. Tough game, but use your brain to figure out invalid lines based on the cards played and kill a liberal there. Usually if a fascist feels like they're going to be shot, they'll try to signal you in some way. In a situation where you get the second gun, if a liberal has been shot your fascists will out and take fascist majority, if your fascist has been shot then tough luck, just try to kill a liberal.

Sometimes, it's possible for fascists to get away with killing a liberal, or even gain enough trust to obtain a second gun. Each specific strategy has its own strengths and weaknesses, but they all work out most of the time if played correctly. Getting away with killing a liberal is all about rallying the support of the other liberals in your picks. It mainly revolves around playing the way a liberal would if they had the gun.

Confing a lib (RRB) - Since some fascists will prefer to play a red and be shot over playing the 4th or 5th blue, you can use this fact to your advantage. Claim RRB even if you got RRR, get the table's approval to shoot your conf, and blast them. Claim that you have shot a guaranteed fascist since they conflicted you under gunpoint, and state that it's a 4v2 scenario (although you know it's a 3v3).

Meta shot (last RRR) - If the last gov had RRR that brought the game to HZ, when you take the gun and claim RRR, the previous RRR player is statistically the most fascist player on the board. They would be the most likely a dropper if you were a liberal and drew RRR. You can use this as an excuse to ask the table to shoot the last RRR president if they are a liberal. The other liberals will likely approve the shot, allowing you to pop them freely without consequence.

Shooting table pick - By the time you get the gun, usually the liberals will hate one of their own, perhaps a non-toucher in high B deck, or a RRR in a low B deck. The gun creates confusion among them and they will often suggest one of their own to be shot. Jump on the momentum and pop them, they'll usually approve of this shot.

Allowing a 3v3 test - Liberals will usually ask for you to allow a 3v3 test after you kill a liberal to prove to them it's not a 3v3. They'll allow you to call a gov that you will ja without you included in it. This is a good opportunity for you to vouch for your co-fas to be elected, while at the same time looking liberal as well. Tell the liberals that you will ja a specific gov that has your co-fas as president. This way, after the 3v3 test passes, your team gets the second gun and you can take fascist majority. Alternatively, you can claim you will ja a 3v3 test, and subtly advocate for your Hitler as the chancellor. If your Hitler isn't elected then, you can out to TD, or make up an excuse for not jaing that government if you think you can get away with it. One shot that is illegal and will out you as fascist is if you shoot the investigated lib. Even if you think both the investigator and the investigated lib are fascist (i.e. a fas-fas inv occured), you must shoot the investigator first. If you shoot the inved lib, you will immediately be called fascist by the entire table, forcing you to TD game instead of playing for a higher WR.

In general, you want to pretend to be a liberal as much as possible in order to get elected. However, there are a couple scenarios where you could consider "outing", which is engaging in behaviour that exposes your identity as a fascist to the other players. In the following scenarios, it is beneficial for your team to out yourself to the table.

If you get conflicted by your Hitler due to a blind conf, two fascists will be frozen out of gov, known as a fas-fas conf. Usually when conflicts happen, liberals suspect that there is one liberal and one fascist frozen in the conf. The odds of a lib-fas conf are much higher than a fas-fas conf. Fascists usually do not conflict each other unless absolutely necessary. In this scenario, outing yourself to the table is beneficial to your team, as it makes your Hitler look like the liberal in the conflict. However, if you make it too obvious and predictable, some liberals may see through your deception and avoid electing either of you, leading to a lost cause. You have to pressure the liberals just the right amount for them to believe you are fascist, thus picking your Hitler as chancellor in HZ.

One other scenario where you would consider outing is to save your Hitler. On the first bullet, the "meta shot" would be the last red president, assuming that they claimed RRR. A natural RRR RRR progression is rare, thus if the president with the gun is liberal and drew RRR, from their perspective, the last president who claimed RRR most likely silent dropped. Through this logic, it is most likely that the last president is fascist. If you sense that your Hitler is the most likely person to be shot, as a regular fascist your job is to protect your Hitler at all costs, even if it means sacrificing your own life. By attacking the person with the gun and creating chaos and confusion among the liberals, the liberals might shift away focus from killing Hitler and rather shoot you for a guaranteed 4v2. Although this decreases your odds of winning, it's a better alternative to have your Hitler shot and take an immediate and guaranteed loss. Don't be too obvious about outing though, liberals may catch on to your scheme of tanking the shot for Hitler, and shoot your Hitler instead.

More common scenarios include outing to create a fascist majority when a fascist has the second gun, and outing to take a 3v3 and taking a TD game (both will be discussed in later chapters).

In most cases, it is best to conceal your identity until you can guarantee a win condition by outing.

When a liberal is shot, the game is a 3v3. Liberals no longer have the voting majority.

The fascists have enough votes to block any gov from passing. Thus, the rest of the game proceeds with the top deck policy being played until one team wins. Usually the fascists prefer this strategy, as there are more reds in the deck than blues, thus better odds of winning for the fascists. This is referred to as a "TD Game", and is a secondary win condition of the fascists, as they also win by getting 6 reds enacted on the board.

If fascists choose this strategy, as soon as a liberal is shot, the regular fascists should publicly declare the lines so that their Hitler knows who they are. After the lines are revealed, nein any gov that does not contain a fascist in power (either fas president or heil).

When you are considering outing to TD the game, consider the following odds:

B-R refers to how many blues and reds are currently on the board

Note: an asterisk (*) means that one of the cards on the board from that category was played due to a topdeck rather than a passing government, Credit: SecretJeb

As you can see, the odds are in favour of the fascists if they were to TD the game out. You win 2/3 games in the worst case scenario (4-4 on board)

Sometimes, fascists may want to continue to hide their identities, even if it is a 3v3. This is because they want to keep their Hitler's identity concealed. However, the danger of doing so is that Hitler may choose to vote with the liberals to carry favour with them, making it a 4v2 voting majority. If it is a 3v3 scenario, and a lib-lib gov is about to proceed, the optimal play here is to nein and take the TD odds. Hitler is very likely to Ja a lib-lib gov, as they don't know who their fascists are. Thus, if Hitler's swing vote causes the lib-lib gov to pass, they are most likely to play the final blue. On the other hand, by outing and taking TD, fascists have a very high chance of winning (see odds above.)

However, if the fascists believe that they are capable of getting Hitler elected, feel free to stay hidden. After you shoot a liberal, the remaining liberals may ask you to pass a 3v3 test to prove it's not equity. This simply means that you'll ja a government outside of yourself to prove that it's not 3v3. By jaing a 3v3 test, you not only look liberal to all the other players on the board, you gain trust to call the next gov. You can take advantage of the 3v3 test by stating that you'll Ja your co-fas as president for the second gun (giving your co-fas the gun guarantees a win in 3v2), or by subtly supporting a Heil. If you're willing to ja a 3v3 test, liberals will likely allow you to choose the gov. You can easily use this as an opportunity to Heil or get your other fascist in play. Worst case scenario, a lib-lib gov is about to run, so you out and take TD odds. Either way, good odds for you to win the game.

There is a niche scenario where you would want to ja a lib-lib gov in a 3v3 scenario. If there are many blues left in the deck, you should consider jaing a lib-lib gov to purge some of the blues. If few blues have been played, the next hand could be BBB. If you choose to out and TD, you risk TDing B-B-B. If you ja a lib-lib gov instead, you effectively get rid of two blues in one turn because the blues will not return until the next reshuffle. Jaing a lib gov in 3v3 also shows that you pass the 3v3 test, and in most scenarios where the lib plays the blue instead of taking a gun, you’ll look liberal and get the second gun. There is a slight chance the strategy will backfire and the lib will take gun for a “hitty shot”, but doing so is a high risk high reward play, as if they shoot wrong it’s an automatic fasc majority.

If your co-fascist shot a lib for 3v3, you can also demand a 3v3 test on your own gov, as if you are a liberal doing the same. This way, it gives the option for your co-fas to look lib by jaing a 3v3 test with you having the second gun. This effectively allows for an easy fasc majority.

Personally, I prefer to continue to play hidden, as it guarantees a higher winrate, if you can get your co-fas elected in another gov and take fas majority, or to even get in a Veto Zone gov, which secures the win for your team. When you out and TD, no govs will play, it is entirely up to the deck to decide your win. Although it's high odds, there's still a slight margin that you will lose. As a last resort, if you know the next gov is lib-lib and you're in a 3v3, feel free to out to your Hitler and take a TD game. This way, you guarantee yourself a higher winrate, and always have the TD option as a backup.

When two liberals are shot, it is referred to as a "fascist majority", or "fas maj" for short. At this point, the game is 100% lost for the liberals, and the voting majority switches to the fascists. Fascists have the votes necessary to pass any gov that favours them.

This is a guaranteed victory for the fascists. Most fascists just prefer to heil their Hitler, as their 3 votes passes the gov. If Hitler is term locked, they can also play a fas-fas gov with the two regular fascists and play the final red. Overall, if you get to this stage where two libs were shot, congratulations on your gameplay, you managed to deceive the libs into killing their own kind. Well done!

One rookie mistake that many newer players make is that they are too easy to read based on their chat. They either don't speak at all to prevent accidentally exposing themselves, unconditionally support their co-fas without a clear reason, or say illogical things that don't make sense. This takes practice to improve over time, but if you want to become a good fascist, you have to act like a good liberal. Suggest future plays that might not be beneficial for you in the short run, but allows you to gain trust in the long run. You can also shade your co-fas for being potential droppers. Many new players are afraid to do this in fear of exposing their teammate, but if your teammate is competent, they'll fight back and one of you will get libbed by the liberals. This means you get the SE, gun, and potentially even the game in your hands.

At the start of the game, if you want to look liberal later on to get elected, play as many blues as you possibly can. You can use this to later bolster your argument about getting the SE, and most liberals will trust you for playing many blues. Liberals will be more likely to think that you are liberal than Hitler, as there are 3 other liberals and 1 Hitler from each liberal's point of view. Liberals love it when others do liberal things, and will reward you for it by trusting you and electing you in HZ.

• FreshWeave "hitty test"

My hitty test was getting RBB as a regular fascist and forcing a lib BB. Then claiming RBB fast and if they take a little bit of time to claim BB then you can claim they failed a hitty test. If they claim BB before you even get to claim or if they claim it really quickly after you then it won't work. There needs to be a small gap. At that point you can tell the table that you actually got RRB and gave them RB but claimed RBB to see if they'd overclaim with you. The same can technically work if you're a fascist forced by a liberal and you claim BB quickly and they take a moment to claim RBB. Essentially make people think you hitty tested, they overclaimed with you and are 100% hitler. Then just fight for them to get shot.

There are some things you may want to do as a liberal, in order to get away with doing them as a fascist. This way, although it may damage your liberal win rate, it will drastically improve your fascist win rate.

Jaing 3-7

First coined by Tom (LyingLizard), this involves jaing 3-7 as both roles in order to maximize touchers. In a 1526 meta, assuming two fascists are in 347, only one fascist will be able to touch deck in the early game with four touchers. If 3-7 is ja’ed, it ensures that at least two fascists will touch the deck in a game with five/six touchers, if not all three depending on whether seat 4 is a liberal/fascist. This strategy benefits the fascists, since the more touchers there are, the harder it is for the liberals to deduce the potential droppers.

Inv fish

As seat 1 or 2 after the first rotation of govs have been played, if the next red policy is the investigation you can conduct an “inv fish”, i.e. instead of going 1-3/1-4, you would play 1-7 instead. This forces the player in seat 7 to either play a blue if you find one, or give you the inv, allowing you to potentially double dip and find two fascists in one play. If you are given inv on 1-3/1-4 the game becomes extremely messy. You may do this as both roles to avoid being fas'ed when you do so.

Choice on investigation / non-inv

According to Iconic’s guide, the only viable scenario where an RBB choice is valid is on the inv, as it allows you to potentially double dip. However, if you choice RBB as liberal on the first red or SE (non-inv scenario), you’ll be able to do the same as fascist, not only allowing you to drop blues for free, but also keeping the deck count high to keep touchers in play.

• Don't ja your conflict in future govs
• Never shoot your co-fascist
• Don't conflict your co-fascist on the inv unless you know what you're doing
• Don't coax liberals into shooting your Hitler
• Don't shade someone for no reason
• Don't act overaggressive
• Don't state that you'll only ja yourself (you have to trust the other liberals to look liberal)
• Don't advocate for an RRR president or potential dropper in a low B deck without evidence (exposes your Hitler)
• Don't nein when the table states to ja
• Don't be salty when your co-fascists conflict you
• Do not vouch for your co-fascist to be shot if you are Hitler (some exceptions apply, depends on the situation)

Understand that the better the players at the table are, the higher the odds that the liberals will win. The game is biased towards the liberals, and liberals will undoubtedly win most of the time if they play correctly. Sometimes, bad seats, bad hands, and bad luck will result in a soul-wrenching loss, but learn to accept it and move on. Even if you play perfectly as a fascist, if the liberals also play well, then you'll still lose the game. It's just the way it is, liberals will tend to win most of the games, as proven by the historical stats. It's just a game, everyone is here to have fun. Don't be too hard on yourself, because at the end of the day, there are plenty of games waiting for you to win 😁

As a final note, the best way to get better at the game is to just practice. You get better with each game you play, and even though you will inevitably make mistakes along the way, you will always learn, grow, and improve for next time. The more games you play, the better you get, the easier the game becomes, and the more games you win. Keep playing the game, try your best each time, and if you lose, don't take it personally and just move on. If you're truly on a losing streak, take a break and come back sometime later. You might have bad days, but you will definitely have good days as well. The euphoria from being on a winning streak, or winning a game after giving an Oscar-worthy performance, is a feeling unrivalled by anything else in this world.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this guide. This shows us that you truly care about improving your gameplay and winning more games. If you have benefited from this guide, please share it with your friends.

We wish you the best of luck with your future games, and know that we are cheering for you! Go out there and crush it!

If you found this guide to be handy, be sure to check out our other guides as well:

• Basic rules of Secret Hitler
• Iconic's Guide (how to improve your liberal gameplay)
• A more detailed versions of the draw odds spreadsheet: https://i.imgur.com/q5vrMFc.png

Written by djderie and ingenue

Thank you to all of the writers and editors who worked on perfecting this guide: ingenue, SadNixon, SecretJeb, Iconic, kokain, epoxymoron, LyingLizard, moira, Bruno, Anji, Kvon, carlgauss, and Scorcha.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to contact us on Discord by messaging djderie#2961(djderie), ingenue#7184 (ingenue), or RichardNixonFunnyMomentsYLYL#9557(SadNixon) on Discord.

• In certain scenarios, especially if a liberal finds RRR, it is a viable strategy to try to double-drop with your co-fascist on the inv. For example, 1 is a liberal who found RRR on 15, you are seat 2 reg fas and find RBB, drop the blue, and seat 6 Hitler plays red, it might be a good idea to claim RRR and investigate them as fascist. This is mostly foolproof if you have a fascist in 347 who can guarantee that it becomes HZ early. Most liberals will look at the deck count and call you fascist, and pick your conflict (seat 6 Hitler) resulting in a heil. One thing to note for this strategy is to make sure that Hitler can convince the liberals to pick him. If he isn’t convincing at all, this strategy can possibly kill your game. This strategy will usually never work if you are conflicting a reg fascist on inv from a DD either as hitler or another reg, unless you think they will get SE (this usually only happens in High ELO games).
• Outing on cucu is a great strategy if you are reg fas! One thing to note about this strategy is that it’s only really good to do this if you found a blue (RRB, dropping for inv and claiming RRR). If you find legit RRR, it is more likely that the liberal you have investigated as liberal will find RBB and force you. It’s hard to make an impact on the game from there as reg fas. One more thing you should do if you plan to out on cucu is to make sure that your fascists can chat well and convince the liberals to give them the SE power. If your fascist team is silent or low effort, it might just be a good idea to investigate your chancellor as fascist and get your co-fascists into play pre-hz so you have a chance to be played once HZ does happen.
• Always start thinking about what your plan is going to be the second you see your lines (or just you as Hitler). Be thinking about if you’re going to play blues, conflict, silent drop, etc. and how you think the game will turn out. Planning is key!!